Save big bucks, one month at a time

Some money-saving advice requires substantial work for not much savings.
Take, for example, hanging your clothes out to dry. Yes, it makes clothes smell great and is better for the environment than using the dryer. But, no, you're not going to save a ton of money. (Trent Hamm over at Simple Dollar figured that he saved about a buck a load.)
I like my dollar-stretching advice to do a lot more stretching than that -- even if it requires a little more effort. Use the following 12 suggestions (one for each month) as a guide to stretching your bucks. Plus, I've included some of the best things to buy each month based on typical sales cycles, courtesy of Consumer Reports.

January

Ditch your bank. Monthly service fees are rising, and it's getting harder to avoid them. The average minimum balance needed to avoid fees soared $856 USD in 2012 to a whopping $4,447 USD, according to a survey of 100 banks by MoneyRates.com. Only 25% of big banks examined by the U.S. Public Interest Group still offered free checking.

If you can't ditch the fees, ditch the bank. USPIRG found that 60% of smaller banks still offered free checking. Online banks such as ING Direct, FNBO, Ally and others don't have monthly fees or minimum-balance requirements. Most large credit unions still offer free checking without minimum-balance requirements, as well.

February

Try a "no spending" month. Need to pay off debt, boost your savings or just take a break from consumerism? Vow to spend money only on essentials for one month. (February makes a good choice, since it's short.) MSN Money readers who tried this experiment several years ago saved $200 USD to $400 USD by eating in, finding free entertainment and staying away from retail stores and sites.

March

Take advantage of your flexible spending account. Most large employers offer these accounts, which allow you to put aside pretax money to pay medical or child-care expenses. Unfortunately, most workers fail to take advantage of FSAs because they fear the "use it or lose it" requirement -- you lose any cash you fail to spend by the end of the FSA plan year. However, that actually happens to only 4% of participants, so quell your fears and put at least a few hundred bucks in your FSA.

April

Get the full match. Tax time can make you painfully aware of the need to shelter more of your income, and there are few better ways to do that than by contributing to a workplace retirement plan. If your company offers a match -- and most large-company plans do -- you should be contributing enough to get the entirety of that free money. If you're worried about missing the money from your paycheck, start by increasing your contribution by just 1% or 2%. Ratchet it up in a few months or the next time you get a raise.

May

Get a better credit card. If you're carrying a balance, look for a low-rate balance-transfer offer that can help you get that debt paid off. If you pay in full every month, make sure your rewards program is still rewarding, since many get watered down as time passes. Your rewards should be worth at least 1% of your spending; many of the best cards today offer twice that, plus they tend to offer generous sign-up bonuses. NerdWallet offers regular reviews of the best rewards cards in various categories (travel, cash back, etc.). Maybe even stop using that credit card?

June

Audit your energy use. The average Trini household spends $6,500 a year on utilities; electricity, fuel oil and water. You might spend a lot more if you live in a location that gets really hot. A do-it-yourself home energy audit can help you identify some upgrades that could slash your bills by up to 30%! (A fan instead of A/C, open a window, use the stove instead of microwave and so on)

July

Shop for office supplies. If you don't have school-age kids, you may not realize how deeply office supplies are discounted during back-to-school sales -- or how early those sales begin. You can get copy paper, pens, tape, markers and other supplies for a fraction of what they would cost the rest of the year.

August

Review automatic purchases. Automatic bill payments are a convenient, secure way to ensure you never incur a late fee or damage your credit scores. But no spending should be entirely automatic. You could be wasting a small fortune on a gym membership you're not using, subscriptions you're not reading or games you're not playing. Internet, television and phone bills may have crept upward without your noticing. Take a few minutes to sit down with your bank and credit card statements to make sure you're getting enough value for your money.

September

Contribute to an individual retirement account . This tip won't stretch your dollars now, but most retirement plans are tax free upon retirement!

October

Cut your TV/Internet/phone bills. Communications providers are like bad lovers. They make all kinds of promises, then stick you with big bills. Do you need that 100mb internet connection or that cable package with stations you don't even look at? Take a look you may find you are paying for packages you don't need. Cell phone packages that include either too little or too many minutes can also cost you more that you expect!

November

Create your holiday budget. Gifts, decorations, entertaining, fancy clothes and holiday travel can add up fast. Get a handle on the season early by sketching out a budget that includes each of these categories. Break down your gift list by recipient, and decide how much you'll spend on each. Keep this list with you to remind you of your plan.

December

Reuse, repurpose, recycle (and regift?). December is focused on getting presents -- yet many of us are already drowning in stuff. Millions of people rent storage lockers to store their excess. Maybe it's time to take a breather. Rather than buying new, ask yourself if you can borrow it, find it used, repurpose something you already have or simply do without.

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